Applying lipstick with a perfectly straight edge is a triumph second only to achieving an even set of cat eyes
on the list of beauty plights. Leave it to Reddit to get into the
nitty-gritty of breaking down this lipline woe: a post in the
r/MakeupAddiction subreddit spurred a plethora of tips on applying
lipstick for those with unsteady hands.
The initial post, titled "For anyone struggling with lipstick application: there's a light at the end of the shaky handed tunnel," features before and after images of the same pair of lips (wearing Kat Von D Exorcism) taken mere months apart. The stark improvement in the second image will make those with unsteady grips say, "show me your ways."
1. Use both hands.
User
MarxistLesbian — who notes that her arthritis and anemia are to blame
for less-than-flawless lines — says the transformation happened through
lots of repetition (sigh). "I practice pretty much every day," she reveals. Nevertheless, she does
share her favorite technique: "[I like] holding my wrist with my other
hand to stabilize the applicator while I move my mouth instead of the
wand." (Um, genius) When all else fails, "...clean up with a lip brush,"
she advises.
2. Utilize cotton buds and lotion.
Another user, hotdancingtuna, swears by these tapered cotton swabs
"Put a dab of face lotion in your palm and roll the tip of your q tip
in it so that it has a light coating of lotion." Next, "run [the coated
q-tip] lightly along the natural [lip] boarder." Voila — a clean (and
soft) lip line.
3. ...Or clean up edges with foundation and concealer.
If you're in a rush, take advice from Lunarrphase, who loves to "use concealer or foundation to clean up the edges!"
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4. Break out the power tools.
User
Fakemoose believes a step-by-step process using a liquid lipstick
formula creates the crispest lines. "Use lipliner and a brush," she
advises. "Do an X the top where the V is first, then the bottom half,
then the rest." She suggests using the below image from thebeautydepartment.com as a guideline.
5. When in doubt, lip liner.
"I
finish lining with the liner pencil or lipstick on a lip brush
(whichever you were already using), fill in most of the way with the lip
brush, then use the applicator to finish coverage," Fakemoose notes. So
many different applicators, but we're willing to give it a go.
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